


Correction

by unwindmyself



Series: curious shapes shift in the dark [111]
Category: True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Female Friendship, Fix-It, Gen, Plans, agency and choices!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5255195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwindmyself/pseuds/unwindmyself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sookie shares her plan with Tara; Tara is not impressed and sees no reason to keep quiet about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Correction

**Author's Note:**

> Part three, "Love Interruption."

“Okay, it’s just us, talk,” Tara says once she’s excused herself and run out of the room, situated in a different corner of the basement.

“I’m gonna give him what he wants,” Sookie says softly.

Tara feels a chill go up her spine even though she realizes that’s what she was expecting to hear.  “What?” she hisses anyway.

“What the hell else am I gonna do?” Sookie asks, sounding like she’s going to start crying.  “You know that fucker killed my parents?”

“And that makes you _want_ to throw your life away on him?” Tara exclaims.

“No,” Sookie snaps, but immediately she tries to slide back to gentle.  “No.  It’s just… he killed my parents.  He killed Sam.  He’s just gonna keep tearin’ through everyone close to me till he gets my hand.”

“We won’t let him,” Tara says, quiet but firm.  “Nora an’ Eric an’ Jess are in the other room leading a whole discussion of how we can kill this asshole.”   _Just like always_ is the unspoken but comforting familiar truth.

“I don’t think we’re gonna be able to,” Sookie murmurs, like she’s already given up.

“Of course we will,” Tara growls.  “You can kill vampires and you can kill fairies.  Hell, Eric’s done both.  Why would a vampire fairy be so much harder?”

“He’s not - I don’t even know!” Sookie exclaims.  “He’s older than most of us combined.  Salome?  Nora’s demon girlfriend?  The only way Bill could off her was by fuckin’ poisoning her first.  Old vampires?  They don’t die easy.”

“Well, it’s one old-ass vampire against like twenty-five of us,” Tara retorts.  “We’ll work it out.  We’ll hold him down with fuckin’ _magic_ if we’ve gotta.”  She’s still not a fan of magic but she sees that these are desperate times and she’s not afraid.

“I can’t let y’all do that,” Sookie murmurs.  “I can’t ask any more of you to put your asses on the line for me, to die for me.  It’s not right.  It’s not fair.”

Tara is quiet for a minute, a long minute in which she can hear the low rumble of the others all starting to speculate and part of her is tempted to go in and tell them what’s going on, maybe get them to weigh in on Sookie’s stupid decision, but she also doesn’t want their input or the inevitable shrieking match that would follow. It’s not too hard to imagine.

Pam would pull attitude and say well let her go through with it, after all it’s her idea they’re not forcing it.

Then Eric would go completely nuts.

Luna would probably scream, shift, and run all the way to the fairy club to call Sookie out and then shake her.  Possibly claw her.  Definitely berate her.

That would probably send Nicole and Nora into two separate, disparate screaming fits.

She actually doesn’t even want to consider what Lafayette would do, because she knows it wouldn’t be what’s considered rational behavior.

Probably a good third of the others would burst into tears, messy and loud.

Nobody needs that shit.

“If he’s gonna come after us till he gets to you, aren’t we putting our asses on the line for ourselves?” Tara asks, venom in her voice.  “There’s a fuckin’ maniac fairy vampire god prince _thing_ runnin’ around in our state thinkin’ he can do whatever he wants, just waltz in and take people, who’s to say he’s gonna stop at just our circle of people?  Which, last I checked, is actually a sort of important circle.  The kind of fuckin’ asshat that thinks like that, how many people you think he’s killed over time?”

Sookie says nothing.

“He’s Lilith’s progeny or whatever, right?” Tara continues.  “So he’s pretty fucked up.  He’s probably got that same sort of vibe going.  If _absolutely_ nothing else, he’s got her blood, and her blood makes crazy, which can be pretty well supported by him showin’ up on the doorstep last night hollerin’ about how he’s gonna come take you away for a wedded bliss of sunshine and massacres that you never fuckin’ signed up for.”

Sookie swallows audibly.  “Well…”

“And what’s _more_ ,” Tara murmurs, “I personally am not gonna let you sign your life away to some sadistic asshole murderer who killed one of your best friends.”

“That’s not your choice to make,” Sookie whispers.

“Yeah, but I’m tryin’ to make it anyway,” Tara retorts.  “I’ve been watchin’ everyone we both hold dear go to fuckin’ pieces since last night, since this afternoon.  Luna and Nicole haven’t stopped crying in two hours.  Fuckin’... how do you think Luna is gonna break this to Emma without wrecking her?”

Sookie is breathing so heavy Tara can hear it through the line.

“Jess is tryin’ to hold it together but it ain’t gonna last and we all know it,” Tara continues.  “Lala’s practically in shock.  I bet if we weren’t in planning mode, Nora would just lay down and lose her shit.”

“What does she care?” Sookie asks bitterly.  “Sam’s not one of hers.”

“We’re all one of each other’s now,” Tara says.  “That’s the point.  We’re a big fucked up family.  Hey, how do you think the girls are gonna react when you tell them you’re gonna sign up to be a murderer’s bride?  ‘Oh, congrats, Sookie, let us be your flower girls!’  You kidding?”

“They wouldn’t be getting anywhere near him, near this,” Sookie insists.

“You think he wouldn’t try just because he could?” Tara asks.

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“Fuck the deal.  Tell me this,” Tara says, soft and furious.  “If Debbie Pelt had been a vampire, if she’d broken into your house and killed me and said she was gonna keep killin’ your friends until you - what, gave her back her boyfriend? - would you have just folded, handed Alcide over like a goddamn cake recipe?”

“No,” Sookie says, taken aback.  “I killed Debbie Pelt.  You know I did.  She stormed in and shot you in the head and she was tryin’ to shoot me but she shot you, and I shot her dead.”  There’s a weighty pause.  “I tried to rescue you the only way I could think of.”

Tara lets that rest for a moment.  They haven’t even remotely tried discussing the night of her death in a while, but this is a pretty good reason to.  “Well, exactly,” she replies.  “Someone came in threatening your life, makin’ unreasonable demands, actin’ all unhinged, bringing pain down on one of your own, and you didn’t just roll over.”

“It’s different,” Sookie mumbles.

“How?” Tara asks sharply.  “You went after Debbie Pelt for me, you actually fuckin’ avenged me.  She killed me and you killed her for it.  Why is it different now?  He killed Sam, Sam whose fuckin’ _maid of honor_ you just got asked to be, I’d say that’s plenty reason to give the bastard hell, or send him back there, at least.  And Debbie Pelt tried to kill you, and you killed her for it.  Warlow’s just tryin’ to kill you, why would you just let him do that this time?”

“I’d be okay,” Sookie says, though she doesn’t seem to believe it.  “You’re fine now, as a vampire.  Y’all are okay, you get on.”

“If I wasn’t getting on I’d be a corpse,” Tara reminds, glad her expression can’t be seen.  “You made a shitty choice I probably wouldn’t have made, but I’m okay, yeah.  You wouldn’t be.  Do you really think Warlow would want to just hang around Bon Temps for all of eternity, keepin’ in touch with your community?  He’s a maniac, Sook, he’s not gonna wanna get to know your people.  He wants an unbreakable plaything.”  By now, she’s yelling, and she has to take a moment to step back.  “I don’t know what the hell you want outta life, but I’m pretty sure that ain’t it.”

Sookie lets out a breath, and what she finally says is, “I love you, Tara Mae Thornton.”

“Kind of a weird time for a confessional,” Tara jokes, because she’s not sure what else to do.

“You’re ridiculous,” Sookie chides.  “I just mean it.  I know I’ve fucked up more times than I can count, but you’re still my best friend and I don’t know who else I could trust to tell me exactly what I needed to hear.”

“Takin’ care of you is my job,” Tara says.  “Always has been, you know that.  And takin’ care of me is yours.”

“It is,” Sookie agrees, laughing tiredly.

“So lemme do my job,” Tara presses.  “Figure out a way back here and we’ll take him down, all of us.”

“Yeah,” Sookie says.  “Yeah, we oughta do that.”

“You oughta,” Tara agrees.  “You’re kind of a dumbass, Sookie Stackhouse, but I love you too.”


End file.
